


Pleasant Birthday Surprises

by afteriwake



Series: In So Few Words [79]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Birthday, Birthday Fluff, Birthday Presents, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Eventual Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper, F/M, First Kiss, Gift Giving, POV Molly Hooper, Post-Episode: s04e03 The Final Problem, Regency, Romantic Fluff, Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper Fluff, Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper Kissing, Surprises, Trip To Bath, surprised Molly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-17
Updated: 2017-10-17
Packaged: 2019-01-18 17:51:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12393105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: Molly is treated to a three day weekend and a trip to Bath for a Jane Austen festival, but she has no idea who gave it to her...until the ball on the night of her birthday.





	Pleasant Birthday Surprises

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SimplyShelbs16](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimplyShelbs16/gifts).



> This is a birthday present for **SimplyShelbs16** , who said " _Okay, so my prompt is probably kinda cliché lol but there aren't many fics with Sherlock surprising Molly on her birthday. I think he'd do something super unique for her lol_." I hope you enjoy, and happy birthday!
> 
>  **UPDATE:** I got a lovely aesthetics board from **SimplyShelbs16** for this fic! If you like it, click the image to leave her a like or reblog it on Tumblr.
> 
> [ ](http://simplyshelbs16xoxo.tumblr.com/post/169447417626/molly-is-treated-to-a-three-day-weekend-and-a-trip)

The tickets to the Jane Austen festival in Bath had been a surprise. And the unexpected three day weekend was a nice little bonus, especially since Sunday was her birthday and that was the day of the ball. She’d heard all about it when she arrived at Paradise House and promptly gotten swept up in the planning of two other women who were on her floor for what to do during the festivities. Annabelle and Christine were lovely women, and she was having a grand time, but something was missing.

Everyone had been rather...detached...from each other after Mary’s death. It had worsened a bit in some regards after what John said had happened at Sherrinford. Sherlock wouldn’t talk about it. Sherlock really wasn’t talking about anything, to be honest, and certainly not the phone call. She knew the circumstances behind it because John and Mycroft had both asked about it and given some details, but she and Sherlock seemed to be acting like it hadn’t happened.

And maybe that was best. Maybe it was best that it was out in the open and they _weren’t_ acknowledging it. Now she could push past it once and for all.

And, perhaps, some dashing gentleman at the ball would catch her eye.

She’d been outfitted in a rather fine Regency era ballgown, or what amounted to fancy dress for the time, and her hair was styled properly and she had white gloves up to her elbows. She even was wearing satin slippers and really, this was all marvelous. The gown and accouterments had been in her room when she had returned from breakfast and were better than what she had bought. The gown was a gorgeous red, a very bold colour but something she absolutely loved. She’d taken the afternoon to get her hair coloured on a whim, and now she was a lighter brown, bordering on auburn. She thought she looked lovely, and Annabelle and Christine had agreed. The three had made for where the ball was being held together.

They didn’t stay together long, though. At the top of the grand staircase was a familiar figure, tall and dashing with his normal curls slicked back and in the proper attire for a gentleman. “I should have known,” she said to Sherlock when he moved to where she was waiting to be announced. “Why?”

“I’ve seen how many Austen novels you have, and Brontë and all of that,” he said. “When I heard of the festival and the fact it corresponded with your birthday, I felt you deserved a nice holiday.”

“And you felt the need to join me?” she asked, trying not to put any inflections in her voice. She didn’t know how she felt about all this, really. Happy and shocked and maybe even a little angry, that he had waited so long to let her know this was all his idea.

“I had planned to be here from the start, but Rosie had a cold and wanted her Uncle Sherlock,” he said. She felt the anger recede at that; they both knew he wouldn’t deny their goddaughter anything she wanted. “It wasn’t until John asked where you were that I told him about the surprise and he told me to come join you. So my apologies for leaving you alone most of the weekend.”

“Well, I had good company,” she said with a small smile. “I have two new friends out of the weekend.”

“That’s good,” he said. “You deserve them. You deserve better friends than me.”

She pulled the two of them out of line and somewhere where there was relatively more privacy before reaching up and framing Sherlock’s face, making it so they were looking eye to eye. “Sherlock...did John even realize it was my birthday today?” she asked.

“No,” he said, a frown on his face.

“Did Greg mention anything? Your brother? Sally? Mrs. Hudson?” He shook his head as much as he could while it was framed in her hands. “None of them said anything to me, either, or gave me gifts or anything. But you! You gave me tickets to a festival you knew I would enjoy, and I’m sure you arranged for all the time off, and you booked the lovely room for me and you’re _here_.” She caressed his face gently. “You meant it, didn’t you?”

“Meant what?” he asked.

“That you love me. When you said it on the phone. You really did mean it.”

He nodded slowly. “I do.”

“Well, I love you too, Sherlock. And I hope to hear those words said between us more often.” He smiled then, one of the genuine smiles she swore crossed his face once in a blue moon, and he gathered her close and kissed her. All in all, she was sure that _this_ year was going to be her best birthday ever...unless Sherlock topped himself next year.

She couldn’t wait to see if he did.


End file.
